They are some of the most famous names in world football. But now clubs such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund look set to achieve a new notoriety as a spotlight is cast over their relationship with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party.

The German football federation, which for years has attempted to whitewash its close relationship with the Nazis, has finally bowed to intense pressure to open its archives to historians.

German historians have already begun to chronicle the darkest chapter in the sport's history that began when it was 'taken over' by the Nazi Party in 1933.

Jewish players and Jewish club chiefs were first sidelined and excluded from international games, and then later unceremoniously kicked out, a process that began in the early 30s. More than 300 Jewish players disappeared during the Nazi era: some died in suspicious circumstances and several others perished later in concentration camps. There has been little attempt to find out what happened to them.

Hitler hated football but quickly learnt how useful it would be to exploit a sport that had become popular in the 1920s as a means of propaganda to promote the aggressive German style. He also realised the political potential in the mass gatherings of football fans. 'Winning a match,' Goebbels wrote, 'is of more importance to the people than the capture of a town in the east.'

Football practice was turned into paramilitary training, and footballers were forced to give the Nazi salute as well as undergoing regular 'Nazi tests', where they were questioned on such facts as Hitler's birthday. Even the English team was forced to give the Nazi salute as a sign of respect for Germany during one match between the two countries.

But plans by Goebbels to 'force victories' were unachievable. Defeat after embarrassing defeat led to Goebbels banning all international games.

Until now, German football authorities have been reluctant to reveal details of the game's history.

The federation (DFB) claims that it has been able to help on the subject because most of its documents were destroyed by the Allies. 'At the moment there is very little material in our archives,' said DFB general secretary Horst R. Schmidt in a recent statement. 'This is because the entire property of the headquarters when it was in Berlin fell victim to an air raid, which burnt the building down.'

But historians specialising in the period hotly refute this version of events, saying that historical documents from various sources prove that the parts of the building on Berlin's so-called Reichs Sport field, where the DFB had its headquarters, were not touched by the bomb. Insiders have instead spoken of huge stacks of archive material being 'spirited away' over the years in an attempt to keep the truth hidden.

Germany is to host the World Cup in 2006 and, say commentators, is keen to 'clear up' this unhappy chapter in its history before it receives too much adverse publicity from abroad. The DFB issued a directive to all its clubs six weeks ago, calling on them to 'work through and come to terms with' their Nazi pasts, and produce documentation with which histo rians could work. Close attention will be paid to the way in which FC Bayern Munich deals with its past. It recently refused to pay into a compensation fund for former Nazi slave labourers to which Ger man firms and commercial institutions have been asked to contribute, saying that it was itself a victim of the Nazis.

Many critics said it had gravely missed the point of the fund. Before 1933 the club offered refuge to Munich's Jews, earning itself the nickname 'Jews Club'. FC Bayern's rise to the top of the league in the Twenties and Thirties was largely due to its Jewish president Kurt Landauer, who later had to flee Germany and was replaced with an Aryan chief.

Borussia Dortmund was the first top-league club to respond to the DFB's demands for critical reappraisal, commissioning its archivist to fulfil the task.

The make-up of Borussia Dortmund before the war was typical of others from the Rhineland, full of players and supporters from the socialist and communist milieu. Pressure from the Nazis forced it in 1933 to change its left-leaning club chief, Egon Pentrup, with August Busse, a member of the Nazi Party. Like most clubs, Borussia has over the years claimed that its members were split over Nazi ideology. But already in 1939, 80 per cent of the first team were members of Hitler's Stormtroopers.

Berlin's Schalke 04 club, which was national champion six times between 1933 and 1945, was also successfully turned into a Nazi team.

Some people fear that Germany's football history may come full circle. Much attention has been paid in recent years to the Berlin football club Dynamo, the former club of East Germany's Stasi police, which now has a reputation for being the club of Germany's rightwing skinheads.